For the Viking Who has Everything
by 0rycbar0
Summary: The war with the Dragon Hunters is over and the team is back from the Edge. But now, Astrid has to tackle the greatest challenge of her life: getting a special gift for Hiccup. And she isn't going to settle for nothing this time. She has no idea what is in store for her in her quest to get a gift for the Viking who has everything
1. Toughest Opponent

_"I think we just have to face the facts. There's nothing I can get Hiccup Haddock that he doesn't have, doesn't want, or doesn't need."_

Astrid groaned a she put her head against her shelf. That phrase repeated itself in her mind over and over again. How could getting a gift for a boyfriend be this hard? Astrid remembered when she said this. This was back when they were on Dragon's Edge six months after they were betrothed. As per Viking tradition, they were supposed to exchange betrothal gifts. Problem was: she hadn't the slightest idea what to get. She tried to stall but to no avail. She ended up doing the exchange completely empty handed. But, he was ok with it. It was so Hiccup of him, saying that she was the only gift he needed.

That may have satisfied Hiccup. But not her.

Hiccup, on the other hand, was an amazing gift giver. When it came to gifts, he went to find things that held meaning for the people he was giving them to. For his betrothal gift, he didn't give her a random jewel or shiny rock she would have no use for. He gave her a family heirloom, the same betrothal gift his father gave to his mother, a symbol that she was a part of his family.

The war with the Dragon Hunters was over and they were all back from the Edge. But, Astrid faced an even greater challenge. Hiccup's birthday was in a week...and she was going to get him a gift. But not just any gift. In the past she got away with giving him some food or drink that he conveniently never ate in front of her. But she wasn't settling for mediocre this time. For this birthday, she was giving Hiccup something truly special.

But history was repeating itself as she was left staring at a wall full of weapons, wondering what to give him. She couldn't believe it. She's faced Outcasts, Berserkers, Dragon Hunters, wild dragons, you would think gift giving would fall like any other opponent. Yet here she was, facing her toughest opponent yet. And this time, she didn't know if she could win.

"Astrid!" a familiar voice called out from outside her house.

History really was repeating itself. Even Fishlegs had shown up at nearly the exact same time.

Astrid made her way to the front door and opened it.

"Fishlegs, what is it?" she asked tiredly. The last thing she needed was a distraction. She had to come up with an idea and the rather plump Viking was known for rambling.

Fishlegs immediately held out a small gift, a rectangle wrapped in green wrapping with a red ribbon topping it all off. Astrid stared at the thing for a moment. At first she thought she was looking at a book. But it was way too thin.

"Fishlegs," she said. "Are you giving Hiccup…paper?"

"No!" Fishlegs exclaimed. He was so jittery that he was practically leaping back and forth on his feet. "It's ten more pages for the book of dragons! Hiccup's been busy since we got back from the Edge so I filled out more pages of some of the dragons we discovered! What are you getting him?"

Astrid would swear the gods were making fun of her. That was the only explanation for all of this. Fishlegs asking that one question. History repeating itself. And if history continues repeating itself, then the answer was: nothing. Giving him a platter of fried yak legs or a jug of yak nog could only last so long. She needed something more.

Fishlegs suddenly laughed and dramatically slapped himself upside the head.

"Silly me," he said. "I forgot. You don't have to give him anything."

"Don't have to," she repeated, walking back into the house but leaving the front door open so Fishlegs could follow her in. "But I'm going to."

Fishlegs followed Astrid as she walked back into her living room, staring at her wall of weapons.

"Astrid, you know Hiccup doesn't need a present from you," he reminded. "He's perfectly happy with you just being there."

"He might be," she said, taking a battle axe off the wall. "But I'm not. What sort of girlfriend would I be if every time something rolls around, I don't at least try getting him something special simply because he says I'm enough? I didn't settle for subpar on the battlefield, and I'm certainly not going to settle for subpar for this. Once, at least once, I'm going to get something special for Hiccup Horrendous Haddock."

She walked up the stairs, leading Fishlegs to her bedroom, where she began rummaging through her drawers. And if this had been done to the drawers of other Viking girls it would be clothes spilling out. And while some of Astrid's shirts and skirts did come flying out, so did her knives, hand axes, and short swords that she kept with her clothes.

"Hey!" Fishlegs suddenly said enthusiastically. "Hiccup gave you a family heirloom. Maybe you can give him one."

Astrid sighed as she closed the drawers. She reached into her shirt and pulled out the necklace that hung around her neck. She never dared to wear it on Dragon's Edge because of all the missions they went on and she was afraid to lose it. Now she was back on Berk, she was a lot more comfortable with it on. And Fishlegs was right. Giving Hiccup a family heirloom of her own was a good idea. But, she had already considered that option last month.

"Few problems, Fishlegs," she said. "The only family heirloom I have is my mother's axe. And it was destroyed in our last battle. And even if I did still have it, Hiccup prefers swords. And even if he did like axes, Hiccup's a genius _and_ a blacksmith. He could make an axe better than anything I could give him. He probably already has an axe that can shoot lightning by now!"

Fishlegs paused at this.

"You do have quite the conundrum," he remarked.

"What's quite the conundrum?" a voice called out. Astrid went stiff at this. She recognized that voice and there was only one person she could think of disrespectful enough to just barge into her house.

"Snotlout!" Astrid snapped as the Viking at her bedroom door. "What are you doing here?!"

"I heard you talking from outside," he remarked, gesturing toward the ground floor. "Thought you could use some help from the Snot. Besides, your door was open."

"So, you just let yourself in?"

"Why wouldn't you let me into your house."

"It might have something to do with you not knowing the concept of personal space."

Astrid scoffed, putting her hand to her face in disbelief. Had this been a few years back, she would have hurled him out the window. But she had been more forgiving about his transgressions lately. She doubted he could be of any help but, by this point, did she have anything to lose?

"So, you think you can help?" she asked. "Alright, what did you get Hiccup for his birthday?"

Snotlout snorted, swatting the air as if that was the dumbest question in the world.

"Just the greatest gift ever," he said. "I got him a copy of the Jorgenson Handbook on how to be a Manly Viking."

Fishlegs rolled his eyes at this.

"Well, hopefully it does more for Hiccup than it did for you," Astrid remarked with a scoff. Snotlout eyed the thin package in Fishleg's hand.

"Fish-face," Snotlout said. "You know birthday cards don't count as birthday gifts."

"This isn't a birthday card!" Fishlegs said indignantly.

By this point, Astrid had lost count how many times her hand has met her face. It may have been a week away but she knew she was going to need as much time as possible and Snotlout was clearly the last thing she needed.

"Hey, maybe you'll get some inspiration if you spend time with him," Fishlegs suggested. Astrid was beginning to think this really was hopeless.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" she asked sardonically. "Maybe it's because I spend more time with him than anyone else. I'm supposed to meet him south of here in a few hours. And I still don't know what to get him."

"Have any of you thought that maybe you're over thinking this?" Snotlout asked. "I mean, if you want to give him something special, just give him something that he really likes."

"Wow, Snotlout," Astrid remarked with feigned amazement. "Get Hiccup something that he likes. How do you ever come up with these _amazing_ ideas?"

"Hey, no one needs your attitude, so shut up, Astrid," Snotlout argued. "Besides, you're supposed to be our local Hiccup expert. I mean, what does he love most in this world?"

"Toothless," Astrid listed.

"Her," Fishlegs said.

They both looked at Snoutlout. It was his idea. They wanted to see what he had to say.

"Hey, I'm just saying," he said so he wouldn't have to answer. "You watch him fly on Toothless or make his little doohickeys, you should know what the guy likes."

Snotlout was a mutton-head but, he did occasionally come up with something good. And this was one of those occasions. Her face lit up as an idea flooded her brain.

"That's it!" she shouted excitedly. She quickly made a list of things that she would need to get to set her plan into motion. Going over the list, she actually didn't have anything that she needed, but she knew where to get them. "I have an idea!" she exclaimed excitedly, grabbing her shoulder guards from the desk and strapping them on.

"Oh, no!" Snotlout exclaimed. "Last time you had an idea, you blew up half the village."

"Well, this is different," Astrid said, finishing the strappings. She led the duo downstairs, explaining everything along the way. "The one other thing that Hiccup loves doing: inventing things. Maybe I can make something for him."

"No, no, no," Snotlout said, following her out of the house. "I can already see this crashing harder than Hookfang on dragon nip. The guy always almost kills himself with his own inventions. And he actually knows what he's doing!"

"I hate to agree with Snotlout," Fishlegs remarked. "But, your specialty doesn't lie in making things. More like breaking things. Do you even know what to make him?"

Astrid signaled for Stormfly. Her nadder came swooping from her rooftop and landed right in front of her, dropping the saddle from her beak. Astrid lovingly stroked her dragon's snout.

"Not yet," she said, picking up the saddle and putting it on Stormfly's back. "But, this is further than I got last time. I'm sure I'll come up with something. Maybe some time with Hiccup will give me some inspiration. Besides, I want it to be a surprise."

"What does it being a surprise have anything to do with us?" Snotlout asked.

"Well, it won't be much of a surprise if any mutton-heads decide to tell him."

"That still doesn't explain why you won't tell us," Snotlout called out after her. "Or why you looked at me when you said that."

Astrid gave Stormfly a final stroke before the two of them took to the skies, Fishlegs and Snotlout covering their faces from the dustup.

"Hey!" Snotlout called out to the retreating figure. "When you die, can I have Stormfly?"

-.-

South of Berk wasn't very specific. But Astrid knew Hiccup well enough that she could guess where he went.

"Come on, Stormfly," she said, encouraging her friend to fly faster. "There's an island at the edge of the map. Hiccup probably set up a camp there or something."

Nadders were among the fastest dragons in existence, so she easily streaked through the skies, winds rippling through her hair. She leaned forward to make herself more aerodynamic, the beating of Stormfly's wings causing a steady pulse beneath her.

It wasn't long before they came across a small island directly below them. With a nice dense cluster of trees on one side and a clear beach on the other, Astrid knew this would be a spot Hiccup would set up camp.

She directed Stormfly to the ground, gently touching down on the beach. Astrid dismounted and landed gingerly on the ground, taking a few steps across the sand. She knelt down, her finger tracing the outline of some very obvious and fresh footprints. Astrid recognized Toothless's footprints. And if that wasn't enough, set of human footprints with a gimpy left foot was a dead giveaway.

"Alright, Hiccup," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "You really leave without me?"

She paused, her eyes scanning the horizon. Hiccup may not have been here, but she was not alone. She could hear the crunch of sand behind her. Her hand drifted to the hand axe attached to her back. Her movements were slow, calculated, making sure she didn't give off the impression she knew that they were there.

It was only when she felt something brush her ear did she finally move. She gripped her axe and whipped around, weapon in the air and ready to cut down whoever was sneaking up on her.

She froze in surprise when she found herself staring at a twig in her face. Looking past the tree branch, she saw one Hiccup Haddock standing a good five feet away from her, the tree branch in his hand. Behind him was Toothless, looking at them curiously.

"Seriously, Hiccup?" she sighed, putting the axe away as Stormfly went to greet her black-scaled friend.

"Hey, I remember what happened last time I scared you," Hiccup said, dropping the tree branch. "I think I've regrown the hair you sliced off," he added, brushing his hand gently over the top of his head.

"Maybe that'll teach you not to scare me," she said.

"Hey, the first time, it was an accident," Hiccup argued, placing an arm around her.

"Sure, it was," she said dismissively, putting her head on his chest. The two of them walked to the edge of the beach, staring out across the horizon. The sun had begun to set, turning the sky a brilliant violet, its radiance reflected on the ocean's rippling surface. "So, any lands out here?"

"You have no idea," Hiccup said excitedly, taking a folded piece of paper out of his sack and placing it on the sand. Astrid knelt down to see what he was up to. She thought it was just a map of Berk and its nearby islands. But as it unfolded in the sand, she could see several other pieces of paper attached. The papers near the top had Dragon's Edge and the other islands they discovered drawn on them. And Hiccup seemed to have been adding more papers at the bottom.

"Hey," Astrid spoke up. "What's holding those papers together?"

"You don't want to know," was Hiccup's reply as took out a pencil from his belt and began drawing a shape on the bottom sheet of paper. Astrid looked at the map curiously. Hiccup put down the pencil and shook his hand. She imagined spending half of his day at the forge and the other half drawing tiny sketches would mean a lot of hand cramps.

She reached over and picked up the pencil. She could see the island he was drawing in the distance. She began drawing the coast and cliffsides that she could see, letting her boyfriend rest his hand.

Astrid could feel her entire body relaxing. She wasn't a fearless Hofferson warrior. She wasn't the pinnacle of the perfect Viking. She wasn't the tough warrior girl everyone expected her to be. And it was all because she didn't have to be. With Hiccup, she could be whoever and whatever she wanted to be. She didn't need to defend her pride nor establish her dominance as a warrior. Least of all with Hiccup.

She could relax.

She could be at peace.

"You know," Astrid said, holding the pencil between her fingers as she looked around. "If we set up a storehouse here, we could use this as a beachhead to explore south of Berk."

"That's one idea I had," Hiccup said, taking the pencil back from Astrid. "Won't be Dragon's Edge, but it'll work."

"One idea?" Astrid repeated.

"Well, I was thinking," Hiccup explained, sitting back in the sand. "We could always put the storehouse on a different island and save this one for us."

Astrid looked at him in confusion for a moment before she understood what he was saying.

"Are you suggesting…"

"Why not?" Hiccup asked. "It'd be a nice place to get away. Plenty of room for Toothless and Stormfly. And where else would you get a view like this?"

"And it would be nice to have a place that would let us get away from the twins," Astrid added. The more she thought about it, the more she liked it.

"So, what should we do first?" Hiccup asked, adding more islands to the map. "Should we look for another island for the storehouse? Or should we start building our little vacation spot?"

Astrid shrugged at this question.

"Let's go searching for another place to put the storehouse," she suggested. "We'll build our little vacation home another day. Maybe a day we could take off together."

They had already used up most of their time together for the day. It just made sense to her to dedicate the rest of it doing something else, then take the entirety of that time for themselves on another day.

"Sounds good to me," Hiccup said. "Saw a few islands west of here. Wanna check them out?"

"You already know my answer to that, Hiccup.".

_**A/N: Hey guys. This look familiar to anyone? So, some of you may have read this before. That is because I have decided to start a new account dedicated to the HTTYD stuff and shall begin by transferring all old material here starting with this one. The materials will move on a weekly basis then I'll start deleting the originals. Still, I would love to see some new faces. For those of you who haven't seen this before, please review let me know what you think. And enjoy.**_

_**Funny thing is, I read this in order to revise it and ended up getting caught up in my own story. All things considered, I'm surprised Astrid's betrothal gift isn't a more popular fanfic plot. Sandbusted is still one of my favorite episodes. When I first watched it I was sure Astrid was going to try to make something for Hiccup. Since this took place between movies 1&2 I was sure that this was how his new metal leg came to be. When it didn't go that way, this story was born. Anyways, please review and let me know what you think. **_


	2. For The Planning And The Scheming

**_A/N: Hey, howdy, hey, you guys. Next chapter. When I first conceived this, it was supposed to be the misadventures of Astrid Hofferson in her attempt to build something for Hiccup. Basically a crazy adventure over something simple. Like I said in the previous chapter, I thought it'd be cool of there was some story to the inception of Hiccup's new prosthetic leg. The same way his flight suit and flaming sword had stories to them. So, this was the combined of the two ideas.  
_**

**_Anyways, that's it for now. It's good to see so many familiar faces. Please tell me what you think and enjoy. _**

-.-

It was night by the time Astrid got back. She landed Stormfly right outside her stable.

"Rest up, Stormfly," she said, unstrapping the saddle. "I'll be sure to give you a big bucket of chicken tomorrow."

The nadder did take a few steps toward the stable but paused, looking back at Astrid.

"What is it girl?" Astrid asked her dragon. She stroked Stormfly's snout, worried that something was wrong. But Stormfly didn't have a look of worry or pain. It looked like…uncertainty.

"Oh, no," Astrid groaned, putting her hand to her head. "I was supposed to be coming up with ideas for Hiccup's gift." She was having so much fun with him that she forgot she was supposed to be looking for inspiration. This must've been what Stormfly was trying to remind her about. Once Astrid mentioned Hiccup's gift, the deadly nadder walked into her pen and laid down.

Astrid considered waiting for the next day and try to come up with an idea the next time she saw Hiccup, but she knew she would become just as distracted as she was today. Then she'd put it off for tomorrow, then the day after, then it would never get done.

She had to look for another place for inspiration on what to get Hiccup now.

But where?

As if some higher power was directing her, her gaze fell upon the forge. A smile crept over her face. That was the answer. She remembered Hiccup's little backroom. It was late so Gobber wasn't there. And Hiccup would be home by this point. This meant his room and all its blueprints were unguarded.

She walked to the forge. It wasn't like the place had any real doors. All the furnaces had died down, the only light coming from the moon above and a few torches.

It's been a few years but she knew exactly where Hiccup's hidden room was. She pulled back the curtains, the room exactly where she remembered it to be.

And judging from the looks of things, little has changed. The walls and tables were still littered with sketches of different machines. The shelves were littered with random widgets that she knew Hiccup used as proofs of concepts.

But what Astrid was after were the blueprints of the things Hiccup hadn't built yet, concepts and ideas he came up with but never got around to making. And there they were on the wall to the right. Some of them were pinned to the wall. Others were lying in stacks on the floor next to it.

Astrid has seen everything that Hiccup has ever built. And when he is building something in secret, he lets her know that he is at least building something. So, she knew that he hasn't made any of these inventions yet.

This was perfect. All she had to do was choose one of the several dozen blueprints before her and make whatever was on it.

But, as she shifted through the stacks of paper, she realized the task may not have been as easy as she thought. Between the confusing maze of thin pencil lines and the absurdly complex math equations, she had no idea what any of these meant and the only person she could ask was the one person she couldn't.

And even if she did understand these blueprints, she knew nothing of metallurgy. She didn't know how hot to make the iron or how many times to pound it. She didn't know the molds or the presses. She could ask Gobber for help, but something told her he wouldn't be able to keep a lid on it.

She picked up the blueprint of the crossbow. The repeating cross bow: stack the mini-arrows into place, hold the trigger, and fire thirty arrows in a span of ten seconds. The design looked simple enough. And she's built crossbows before. Building a repeating crossbow would be a breeze. But, was getting your boyfriend a crossbow really all that impressive?

She could always build this canister of zippleback gas. It wasn't like the ones Hiccup was building for the armory. The 'zipple-booster' he called it. The booster was to be attached to his back to increase his speed while he was using his flight suit. She was there when he first tested it. They had gone into the mountains with a sled. Hiccup said he was using the snow for when he crashed at high speeds. He lay on his stomach on the sled, then pulled the string to activate the booster. The gas was ignited, and Hiccup took off with a trail of flame behind him. The snow did its job, maybe a bit too well. It stopped him from getting killed from crashing…and nearly killed him by smothering him. She had to jump head-first into the snow to grab his feet, then have the dragons pull them both out by her feet.

Yeah, she was not even touching this thing. She didn't know metallurgy to properly build the canister. She didn't know chemistry to work with the zippleback gas. And even if she did, she was not touching this project since it would only enable Hiccup to do even dumber things. If anything, she was tempted toss this blueprint into an open flame.

What about the air chute? Another one of Hiccup's plans for his flight suit. The air chute: open when in falling to catch the air and slow descent. If he ever found himself falling, he could open the air chute and slow his fall. Problem was: was it really appropriate to get your boyfriend a giant piece of cloth for his birthday?

Astrid groaned in frustration. So close and yet so far.

As she continued looking around the room, another thing caught her eye. It was an axe on the wall. She didn't think much of it at first. He was probably making another weapon. She was surprised he didn't tell her about making a new weapon but he already had a shield that doubled as a crossbow, grappling hook launcher, and a bola-launcher. He had a sword that could ignite with the press of a button and modified it so it could release and ignite zippleback gas. She could only imagine what this axe could do.

Fancy weapons were Hiccup's style. Astrid still liked the old Viking way. A simple axe was what she preferred.

Still, perhaps this axe could give her an idea as to what to make. She gingerly took it off the wall, examining every inch of it. It was a gronkle-iron double-headed axe, its shaft reinforced with iron supports and the two metal studs at the bottom of the handle were molded into the shape of a night fury and a deadly nadder head.

She continued examining the axe, trying to find the switch or button that would cause it to shoot lightning or whatever. But she couldn't find anything.

By this point, she was beginning to think Hiccup didn't add any new features to this axe. And now that she thought about it, why was he making an axe? He preferred swords.

"Wait a minute," Astrid muttered, noticing a fine line in the handle. She traced the line down to the metal heads at the base of its handle. Looking at it closer, she realized the heads were hiding a hinge.

It couldn't be…

She pressed in both dragon heads. There was a click and Astrid unfolded the axe. Her eyes widened the weapon doubled in length and became both double-headed and double sided. The gronkle iron axe head was actually two axe heads stacked together in a way that made them one head when the axe was folded up. In fact, the whole axe reminded her of Heather's axe.

There was only one explanation: this axe was meant for her. Hiccup was making that axe for her as a replacement for mother's destroyed axe. That was why he was making an axe and not a sword. That's why she never heard that he was making a new axe. That was why it didn't have any special features. And he had even made it similar to Heather's axe, the axe she had said she wanted.

This was beginning to get embarrassing. Hiccup had found yet another amazing gift her and she still had nothing.

"Who's over there?!" a voice suddenly called from outside the forge. Astrid jumped at the sound of someone shouting from outside, nearly knocking over the stacks of paper. For a moment, she feared it was Hiccup. But the voice was too deep. Too gravelly.

She eased up as Stoick the Vast stepped into the forge, pulling back the curtain and stepping into, or rather squeezing into, the backroom.

"Astrid," he said in surprise. "What're you doing here, lass?"

"Chief," she said awkwardly, pushing some of the papers behind her back. "I was…uh…" She knew she needed to keep her secret from Hiccup. But she never considered what to do about Stoick.

The giant man gave a chuckle.

"You can drop the formalities," he said. "After all, you are going to be my daughter-in-law."

"Well…dad…"

Astrid cleared her throat. It seemed odd calling someone other than her father 'dad'. It was even weirder since this was not just any 'someone' but the chief of the village. Stoick must've realized this, laughing heartily at Astrid's reaction.

"It's alright, lass," he said. "We'll take it slow."

"How did you know anyone was over here?" Astrid asked. She was usually good when it came to being stealthy.

"Stormfly wouldn't let me get to my hut," Stoick said. "For some reason she insisted I go to the forge. So, here I am. And, what are you doing here?"

Astrid knew she would need to thank Stormfly when she got the chance. Her girl clearly had her back with this.

Before she started all this, Astrid did make a list of people she could and could not tell. Well, the list of people she could tell was so small she didn't bother giving it much thought. Gobber wasn't exactly known for being tight lipped. A few seconds of pressure and Fishlegs would crack like an egg. Snotlout couldn't keep his mouth shut even if his life depended on it. And she doubted the twins even knew the definition of 'secret'.

But of all the people she thought about, she was surprised Stoick, Hiccup's father, never crossed her mind. Thinking about it now, he might be one of the few people she could tell.

"I'm trying to get Hiccup a present," she said. "I thought that maybe since Hiccup likes to invent things, I could invent something for him this time."

"I see," Stoick replied. "And this is why you're rummaging through his room."

Astrid nodded.

"Problem is, I'm not sure if anything I build can even compare to what he can do. And I have no idea what to get him. And, even if I did, I don't know if I could build it."

"You know that as you put your heart and soul into it, Hiccup will love it no matter what it is," Stoick said.

"I know. But with all he's done for me, I want to get something for him at least once."

Astrid was beginning to believe the man was named 'Stoick' for a reason. It was hard to tell what was going through his mind when he wasn't angry.

"Tell you what lass," Stoick spoke up. "I imagine you need help getting some of the parts to build whatever this secret project is. Well, if you can give me a list of whatever it is you need, I can ask Gobber and Hiccup to make for you. They learned to never really question when I make a request."

Astrid looked up in surprise. This was perfect. This actually solved half her problems. She could get all the parts she needed by asking Stoick.

"Thanks…dad" she said. She was still going to have to get used to saying that. "This really helps."

She still needed to figure out what to make and how to build it. But this was further than she thought she would get.

"Well," Stoick said, putting a firm hand on Astrid's shoulder. "I'll leave you to it lass."

He clomped out of the forge, his figure not disappearing in the distance due to its sheer size.

Astrid placed the axe back on the wall. She couldn't let herself get distracted.

Though, before she could return to what she was doing, she noticed Stormfly poking her head through the entrance of the forge, looking at Astrid with pride over sending Stoick to help her. Astrid had to admit, it did help. She walked up to the nadder and stroked her snout.

"Alright, I'll double the chicken," she giggled. Satisfied, Stormfly stepped away from the forge, leaving Astrid to her work.

Astrid picked up another blue print and looked at it. It read 'the multi-tool'. It showed what looked like a metal stick, a slew of gears drawn near the top of the stick, and three latches at the bottom. She still couldn't understand the intricate diagrams but she was able to piece together what this machine did just by reading the tiny notes etched on the sides.

_Pump to load spring._

_Ratchet and pawl for single direction rotation._

_Interchangeable tools. _

_Adjust lever to cycle through tools._

Astrid wasn't Hiccup, but she wasn't exactly the twins either. She knew how gears worked. She did build the ballista on her roof back on Dragon's Edge. In fact, she built most of the defenses on Dragon's Edge. And she could at least deduce the basic functions of whatever this thing was. Pumping the contraption would load the spring. Then, moving the lever would spin the latches at the bottom. She didn't know what the blueprint meant by 'tools' but she imagined that Hiccup could put an assortment of fancy gadgets into this thing.

Astrid sighed and rolled her eyes. She didn't even know what this thing does. For all she knew it was a pencil holder and the 'tools' could just be different colors.

She put it aside and picked another blueprint off the ground. She looked over what appeared to be drawings of…feet. But not just any feet. They looked like different versions of Hiccup's prosthetic foot. There was a foot with a jagged bottom with the words 'for icy surfaces' written next to it. There was a foot with a thick cloth padding beneath it and the words 'for stealth'. The foot after that was shaped like a human foot, at least vaguely. Next to it was 'fits in shoe' and 'for infiltration'.

Astrid had to laugh at the last one. Last time Hiccup tried to go somewhere in a disguise, everyone figured out it was him just by his prosthetic leg. The new one would let him blend in.

Still, it was another dud. She tossed the blueprint aside and looked up. She could always check out the top shelves. She reached up, gently pulling the corner of a piece of paper she saw sticking out. She let out a startled gasp when something else came rolling down instead.

"OW!" she cried out in pain as a metal bar fell onto her head. She cursed, looking at whatever just hit her. On closer inspection, it wasn't a metal bar. At least not completely. She knelt down, taking another look.

It was a tail fin. It was Toothless' tail fin, one that didn't need a stirrup. And looking at it, the gears in Astrid's brain began spinning. She picked up the last two blue prints she tossed away: the feet and the…whatever the other thing was.

Even if this thing was conceived to be a pencil holder, she didn't need to build it as one. She could reshape the frame, and instead of 'tools' she would give Hiccup a variety of prosthetic feet.

With the way Hiccup's metal leg was now, if he so much as dinks the foot, he has to replace the whole thing. With this, he simply has to take out the foot piece and put in a new one. And he could have more than one type of foot.

Helping her boyfriend walk seemed like a pretty good gift. And it was probably the only thing she had any hopes of building.

No exploding zippleback gas.

No falling from deadly heights.

Just a whole lot of springs and gears.

She just might live through this after all.

What could go wrong?


	3. Problems With Hiccups and Gas

**_A/N: So, Little trivia. When I first wrote this I had intended to do a one-shot involving the hiccup joke. Problem was, I could not for the life of me think of an entire plot (even a single chaptered one) that revolved around hiccups. So I decided to put it in this story.  
_**

**_Anyways, please review and let me know what you think. Do you think Astrid is going to survive making this? Most of all, enjoy._**

**Day 2**

The next day, Astrid stopped by Hiccup's house to hand Stoic a piece of paper. It had all the pieces she needed to complete her secret project. It was a simple request. Just a few gears, the shell that would hold everything together, and several metal rods for the gears to spin on.

"Here," she said, placing the slip of paper in the giant man's hand. The moment the paper left her hand, Astrid suddenly felt her chest contract. It was so sudden that she took in a breath of air with a small 'hic'.

Stoic looked up from his paper at the noise, leaving Astrid failing rather awkward.

"Alright," he said. "I'll pass this to Gobber. Looks easy enough."

"Thank you for this," Astrid said graciously, suddenly giving another 'hic'. "Anyways," she added, clearing her throat. "Where's Hiccup?"

"I sent him out on an errand," Stoic answered, folding up the paper. "He should be done soon. If you want to wait-"

"It's fine," Astrid interrupted. "I was just hoping to say hi if he was still here." She gave another involuntary 'hic'.

"Well, I'll be sure to let him know you dropped by," Stoic laughed. Astrid smiled as she made her way to the door, exiting the Haddock's house. Her nadder was waiting outside, looking at her with anticipation.

"Step one: done," she said excitedly. She suddenly let out another 'hic', covering her hand over her mouth.

"And what's step one?" a voice asked. Astrid froze, looking up at the sky as a black night fury touched down.

Astrid _was_ hoping to see Hiccup, but this had caught her by surprise.

"Oh, Hiccup," she stuttered. "I'm just…talking about…what's next in my training."

"The Berk Guard training?" Hiccup asked, getting off Toothless. "Astrid, you're the top fighter in the guard, the top rider on the guard, and second-best rider on the island. I think you got the whole thing in the bag."

"Now I just need to make sure no one closes the gap," she said. "Wait a minute, second-best rider?"

"Well, second to yours truly," Hiccup laughed, giving a dramatic bow.

"Oh, watch yourself Mister Haddock," she said, poking him the chest playfully. "If you aren't careful, you'll be eating Stormfly's dust. Besides, I still got you beat when it comes to combat."

"And you better watch _yourself_ Miss Hofferson," Hiccup joked. "I've been practicing."

"Just because I thought you everything _you_ know about fighting doesn't mean I taught you everything _I_ know."

Suddenly, she let out another 'hic'. She immediately cleared her throat, getting very annoyed by these 'hics'.

Suddenly, Hiccup started laughing.

"Wow, Astrid," he said, almost keeling over. "You miss that much?" You had to go and get yourself another hiccup."

"Oh, har har," she said flatly, another 'hic' escaping her mouth as she said this. Astrid didn't find it particularly amusing but Stormfly clearly disagreed, letting out a chuckle.

"Anyways," Hiccup said. "It's good that I ran into you. I won't be able to work on our little vacation house tonight. You can get started if you want."

Astrid felt a tinge of disappointment at this. It meant not getting the time to spend with Hiccup. At the same time, she knew it was time she could use to make Hiccup's secret gift.

"I think I'd rather wait for you," she said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Hiccup said, nervously scratching behind his head. Astrid just waved away the issue.

"It's isn't your fault," she said. "Chief-in-training business?" Astrid tried to hold in her 'hic', but all she succeeded in doing was turning it into a mouse-like squeak instead, causing her to instantly blush at the girly noise she just made.

"Dad wants me to resolve some dispute between Bucket and Mulch."

"We'll just build it tomorrow," she said. "It'll be fine."

Hiccup nodded graciously, giving her a kiss on the forehead. He mounted Toothless while Astrid waved goodbye from the ground, letting out another 'hic'.

"Well, at least you have something to remind you of me," Hiccup remarked.

"You're still not funny, Hiccup," she called out as Toothless lifted off.

"Keep telling yourself that. I can hear you laughing on the inside."

Astrid didn't even have words by this point, sighing and shaking her head in amusement, hiding her a small laugh. She stood and watched as Hiccup took off on his night fury.

And right on cue, she let out another 'hic'.

-.-

Unfortunately for Astrid, her hiccups did not go away. And, as a result, she got a few too many 'Astrid with hiccup' jokes than she would like. Snotlout had the misfortune of being the last to make one and, being fed up with all of it, chased him up a tree.

Night fell and she went back to the forge. She wanted to look over the blueprints a couple more times before she got started.

She had to modify the design a little but not much. The foot could be broken down into three sections: the spring chamber, the gear box, and the revolving latches. The shell that would encase the entire thing had to be enlarged so it could fit into where Hiccup's prosthetic would go and to accommodate larger gears.

Astrid's concentration was broken when she heard heavy footsteps outside. It was clear from the sound a massive man had entered the forge.

"Hey, Astrid," Stoic said, walking into the back room. She looked up at Stoic, who walked over to the table with a sac over his shoulder. "Here are the items you requested, but the springs may be an issue."

"Issue?" she repeated, picking up the bag and looking at the pieces inside. Sure enough, everything she needed was in there. There were the gears she would need to make the foot. There was the metal shell that would encase the foot. Honestly, she was surprised Gobber could make these pieces from her…_very_ rough sketches.

She suddenly let out another 'hic'.

"You specified the length of the spring but Gobber needs to know how strong to make it."

Astrid looked at the blueprints again. She was sure Hiccup probably marked down how strong the spring was supposed to be. He always did talk about spring calibrations. But she had no idea how to figure that part out.

"Can you ask Gobber to make two of each?" she asked.

"You know that's a lot of springs yer askin for."

"I know," Astrid said, looking back at the picture. "I'll figure everything out later." Stoic just shrugged.

Astrid let out another 'hic'.

"You know-" Stoic began to say, holding back a laugh. Astrid could tell what was about to happen, holding her hand up to stop him from speaking.

"Please, no more hiccup jokes," she said. "I've heard enough today to write a book with."

"Alright, alright," Stoic laughed. "I'll leave you to it."

Astrid cracked her knuckles. Even if she didn't have the springs, she could start on making the gear box.

Hiccup had already done most of the brainwork making the diagram. She just needed to follow the instructions. Astrid slid the gears onto the rods before attaching the rods to the metal casing. The screws on the paper were very clearly labeled so she knew where to put those as well.

It took about half an hour of tinkering and hiccupping, and she had to take the thing apart twice, but she finally managed to put it together. She held up her masterpiece. She technically didn't do much, simply putting a bunch of gears, rods, and metal cases together. The idea, the mechanics, that was all Hiccup. But she could not help but feel pride. She picked up the work in progress and looked at the bottom. She didn't have the springs but if this worked the way it was supposed to then every step Hiccup took would pump the spring. She didn't have to foot piece either but pushing on the latch at the bottom should do the trick.

She reached over and pushed the bottom. It should push in. But nothing happened. She pushed again, but the latch wouldn't budge.

Actually, it did budge but that was all. It didn't push in like it was supposed to. The gears were stuck.

She groaned in disbelief. She did something wrong. That was the only explanation. She was going to have to take it apart and try again.

Well, at least nothing was trying to kill her.

_"HIC-"_

Astrid took it back. These hiccups were slowly killing her.

-.-

**Day 3**

Luckily, a night's rest was enough to make the hiccups go away. She went through her regular routine with an early morning training sessions, going to practice, then, finally, ending the day with Hiccup.

She and Hiccup decided to get their little vacation home underway. Construction was much easier with dragons. Just a few minutes later, the giant logs that built the foundation were in place. Stormfly had already chosen the roof as her favorite spot. Toothless decided he liked the ground right at the front door. All that was left was to build the walls.

She stood by Hiccup, admiring their work. He held his hands up, forming a frame with his fingers.

"What do you think?" he asked. "Maybe a few ballistas on the hills and iron-reinforced walls and we'll be good."

Astrid looked at him in surprise. Weapons and defenses were her thing. And even if they were his thing, why would he want them on their little vacation hut?

But, Hiccup clearly couldn't contain his laughter, a smile creeping across his face.

"Oh, funny," she laughed, giving him a light punch to the arm. Leave it to Hiccup to make fun of her habit of turning everything into a fortress. But, she couldn't just let him get away with it.

"You know," she teased. "I saw some open fields on the far side of the island. If you get yourself killed by your next project, it seems like a nice place to bury you. That is, assuming I don't just bury you first."

"Now why would you do that?" he asked with a smile. Astrid didn't feel like coming up with a retort, simply laughing and wrapping her arms around Hiccup's shoulder.

"Hey, next time you're trying out Dragon Fly III, I wouldn't mind being the one pushing you off the cliff," she added.

Just as she said that, there was a strange rhythmic croaking coming from the front of their hut. They looked over, spotting Toothless try to turn away. That dragon must've heard what she said and was trying to stifle its laugh.

"Well, that was just weird," Hiccup remarked with a shudder.

The two of them looked across the ocean toward the sunset.

"Maybe we can start with a little room in the south west corner," Hiccup suggested. "Someplace private just for the two of us. If we finish, we could even spend the night here. Fly back to Berk in the morning."

Astrid wanted to say yes. She had even opened her mouth to do so. But she remembered she had a project to finish.

"Maybe another time," she stuttered. "I just have some…big things I need to finish back on Berk."

Hiccup gave her a quizzical look. But she could only return a sheepish smile.

Astrid was head of the dragon division of the Berk Guard and was training to become the new head of its military. So, the lie of her having to go back to either rest up or do more practice was believable. But what wasn't believable was her delivery of the lie.

She could always lie to someone else when it was something related to an important mission. But lying to Hiccup about something personal…she fell apart like a shattered pot. She had done this before, when she was trying to avoid him to stall for time in a desperate bid to find him a betrothal gift, and her excuses weren't believable back then either.

And, judging from his expression, he wasn't buying it this time either. Whenever she lied like this, her face turns as red as an apple, she can barely form a cohesive sentence without stuttering, and the excuses she comes up with don't make much sense.

"Alright then," Hiccup said.

Astrid felt like someone had dumped cold water on her. He had said it so nonchalantly. There was no way he couldn't tell something was up. Which meant he was perfectly willing to let her keep her business to herself.

"I swear, I'll explain everything," she said, signaling Stormfly. Upon command, her nadder came swooping down from the roof. Hiccup and Astrid shielded their face as the flapping wings kicked up some sand.

"Just not right now," Hiccup said for her. He crossed his arms with a smirk. "Well, little missy, I look forward to when you do."

Astrid smiled, glad he understood. She gave Hiccup a quick peck on the lips before mounting Stormfly. With that, they took off into the sky.

Once they were away from the island, Astrid reached down and stroked Stormfly's nape.

"I know, girl," she said. "We got lucky that time."

Stormfly gave a squawk in response.

"Ok, _I_ got lucky," Astrid corrected.

-.-

Astrid dropped by her house to grab her pet project and to put Stormfly away. Once Stormfly was in her pen, Astrid quickly went inside, running up the stairs and going straight to the weapons rack. She slid aside one of the shields that hung on the wall, revealing the hidden compartment behind it. She took the peg leg out of the secret compartment. The forge was not a good place to hide something like this. This meant she only had her house to hide Hiccup's gift until it was ready.

She made her way through Berk, trying to look as relaxed as possible. Hiccup could return to Berk at any moment and if he saw her, the gig was up.

Luckily, she made it back to the forge without incident. She made her way to Hiccup's backroom, setting the prosthesis on the table. She also saw a bag on the table with a paper pinned to it with the phase 'good luck' written on it.

Astrid opened the bag and peeked in. It was full of springs. Stoic must've dropped it off earlier.

Astrid sat down and cracked her knuckles. It was time to go to work.

The first thing she had to do…was take the prosthesis apart. She sighed and rolled her eyes, picking up a screw driver and taking apart the shell. Keeping the blueprints in front of her, she began taking off the gears one by one.

She was nearly done disassembling the entire thing when she stopped. One of the gears she took off was…wrong. She looked at the gear. Unlike the others whose teeth were shaped like triangles, its teeth were shaped like fins.

It was a ratchet. She knew this particular gear all too well. It let machines crank one way but not the other. It was a key component to a lot of military equipment like ballista and catapults. And she knew this was the key to the entire mechanism.

And she had put it in backwards.

She groaned and rolled her eyes. At least she now knew why the whole thing was stuck. Confident the problem was solved, she began putting the gears all back into place. The last thing to put in was the spring.

She dumped all the springs out onto the table. They were all the right size. But the question was: which one to use?

She picked up one of the thinner springs. It was so weak she practically didn't feel it between her fingers. No way this was strong enough to run the mechanism.

She picked up another spring. This one was strong enough that she needed to put some effort into compressing it with her fingers.

She inserted the spring into position.

It was ready. Now she had to test it.

Astrid was beginning to understand why Hiccup had so much fun with this. As she pumped the latch, she watched the entire mechanism come to life like a living being. It was rather calming to watch. And while she didn't come up with the plans, measurements, or even the concept, she felt pride in making the thing. She could only imagine how she would feel if she did come up with everything else.

She heard a click as the spring was fully coiled.

Finally, she slid the lever.

Nothing.

Astrid groaned in frustration. She was so sure she built the thing right. So, what went wrong? Was she dumb enough to put the ratchet backwards twice? Maybe the ratchet wasn't the only problem.

She shook the prothesis in frustration as if she was yelling for it to work. And, to her surprise, the gears actually moved. She stopped shaking, and the gears stopped moving. She looked at the spring coil inside. It had slightly expanded but stopped.

The spring was not strong enough.

She began to take the spring out, but her hands were sweaty, and the spring was still coiled. She watched as the spring popped out, flew past her head, and bounced into the darkness of the forge.

Astrid looked in the direction she saw the spring bounce to, not sure if she should go after it.

Well, that was the wrong spring anyways, so she guessed it didn't matter.

She picked up a much stronger spring and began to put it into place. She put one end into place and was about to squeeze in the second when…

"No!" Astrid gasped as the spring popped out. She instinctively leapt after the tiny metal coil, hand outstretched in a desperate attempt to grab it. If that thing bounced out of sight, there was no finding it.

Papers flew everywhere as she knocked over a small table behind her, all its items falling to the floor.

She hit the ground with an 'oof', her eyes still locked on the spring, watching as it hit the ground and bounce in the opposite direction, back towards the work bench, before finally rolling to a stop under it. She let out a sigh of relief, gingerly picking the spring back up.

Safe.

Astrid froze. She was so caught up in the moment she didn't even notice a gentle hissing noise. She stood up, putting the spring back on the table so it wouldn't get lost.

There was no doubt about it. Something in the forge was hissing. Her eyes drifted toward the floor. It was something underneath the papers. She bent over and picked one of the papers off the ground…and her face went pale.

Underneath the paper was a canister of zippleback gas. Correction, a canister leaking zippleback gas.

Astrid remembered Hiccup telling her about this. He was trying to give the Berk military some new weapons including a can of zippleback gas. Toss it on an enemy ship or into an enemy army, let it leak for a few seconds, then ignite it. And he had mentioned that he still needed to find the balance between gas pressure and metal integrity. It must've been on his desk.

And she knocked it over.

It was a tiny leak, barely any green gas flowing out. But her eyes darted to the candle above the workbench. Tiny or not, if any gas got to that open flame, the forge was going boom.

The gas could dissipate before that happened but only if she could stop the gas from leaking.

She picked up the canister and pressed her finger on the crack in the can, trying to plug the hole. It was no use. Gas continued seeping out from underneath her finger. There was only one thing she could do.

She burst out of the backroom, canister in hand. She ran to the edge of the forge and hurled it with all her arm strength.

Astrid walked back into Hiccup's secret room and let out a sigh of relief. Though, now that she thought about it, throwing it was probably a bad idea. Berk was full of torches. If that gas met any of them, someone's house was going to go up in flame. She could at least take comfort that the forge was safe, but she had to go back out there and properly dispose of the canister.

_Clunk_

Astrid jumped when she heard metal hitting the floor. She looked down in horror. The gas canister was back. She peered out the curtain, spotting a familiar nadder at the entrance to the forge.

"Stormfly!" she groaned. Stormfly must've seen Astrid toss the metal can and decided to play fetch. While she regretted simply tossing it out the side of the forge, she didn't want it brought back to her either.

Astrid grabbed the can again. She had to get rid of it properly.

"Stay!" she ordered to Stormfly. She rushed out of the forge and sprinted across Berk, holding the can of zippleback gas in front of her like a bomb. The only for-sure way to safely get rid of this thing that she could think of was to toss the can off the side of the cliff and into the ocean.

She sprinted out past the village, making a beeline for the cliff. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her arm. She whipped around to face whoever it was stopping her.

"Tuffnut?!" she exclaimed in shock. The Thorston brother was up in her face. He was harmless, at least relatively, but he was still way too close for comfort. She didn't have a clue why he would be out this late and this far from the village. Probably playing another dumb joke. It didn't matter. She had to get rid of the thing she was holding.

"Hey, Astrid," Tuff babbled. "You seen Ruff anywhere? I think I made her mad again. We were supposed to prank Snotlout. I think he found out and ran away. Or it could be because he couldn't crack our secret new language. We've been working on it for ten years. I'd tell you how it works, but then I'd have to kill you. Well, at least I'd have to try. Hey, what's that thing you're holding?"

Astrid's eyes were locked on the torch he was carrying: another open flame that could ignite the gas. She didn't have time for this.

"Birthday gift," she blurted out. It didn't make a lick of sense, but she didn't care. She was on the clock. "Happy birthday," she said, shoving the canister into Tuffnut's hand before turning around and bolting off.

"Aww, birthday gift for me?" Tuffnut rambled. "I didn't even know today was my birthday. Happy birthday to me. What is this anyways? And what's that green stuff coming out of it? It looks familiar."

Astrid could feel the gust of wind from the explosion behind her. She glanced behind her and at a stunned Tuffnut who was still trying to process what happened. His hair was singed and he covered in ash, but he was fine…at least physically.

Suddenly, a smile spread over his face.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" he screamed. "DO IT AGAIN!"

Astrid made her way back to the forge. As she stepped in, she finally let out a sigh of relief. All that running had taken all her energy. If she wanted to be able to get up the next morning, she was going to have to call it quits to that night.


	4. From Heights to Heather

**A/N: Hey guys. Next chapter. So I made this keeping in line with the thought of Astrid's misadventure's for a foot. As for Shrimptwig, I noticed a lot of other fanfics usually used traditional Norse names. But, look at the name of some of people on Berk. Fishlegs. Snotlout. Spitelout. Mulch. Mildew. It's clear Berkians don't exactly use normal names (unless you're name is Astrid). Anyways, please let me know what you think and enjoy.**

**Day 4**

"C'mon, Shrimptwig. You're her tenth opponent and she's barely even sweating."

Astrid held her axe at the ready, her eyes on the much larger Viking opponent before her. There was nothing but fields of grass in all directions, a wooden fence enclosed around the two of them. The other trainees were on the outside of the fence, watching the fight take place.

Astrid was a lot more exhausted than she let on. It was as the General said. This was her tenth opponent. There was no better way to push the limits of a Viking in combat than to switch out their opponent for a fresh one at the end of every sparring match with no breaks in between. And even Astrid had to admit, she was actually beginning to get tired.

And Shrimptwig…well, the name didn't do him justice. He was a hulking behemoth, the largest and strongest of the trainees, favoring a large club as his weapon of choice.

She was at a physical disadvantage. His longer limbs meant he had better reach. And she was exhausted from winning nine sparring matches in a row.

So if she couldn't out muscle him, she'd outsmart him. Shrimptwig swung his massive club at her, forcing Astrid to take a few steps back to avoid getting hit. She needed him to swing the club in a downward motion, the one swing he seemed to never do while she was standing.

She was going to have to change that.

Backing up, she tripped on her own foot, falling flat on her back. With his opponent now down on the ground, he raised his club above his head.

Perfect.

If Shrimptwig wasn't going to swing down while she was standing, then falling was the only way to force him to do that. And as the club came down, she rolled to the left, letting the massive piece of wood hit the dirt next to her. Immediately, she rolled back over, pinning the heavy club under her arm as she rose to her feet.

She leapt forwards, putting the axe handle across Shrimptwig' neck as she inserted herself behind him. Pulling forward, she flung Shrimptwig over her shoulder. He hit the ground with an 'oof', leaving a miniature crater where he landed.

"That's ten!" the General announced. "Astrid takes it…again."

Astrid stood up, raising her axe in the air and cheering triumphantly as the trainees broke into applause. Astrid continued cheering, axe held high. She had just gone ten rounds against other Viking warriors with no breaks and beat all of them. She had every reason to be excited.

She bent over and offered Shrimptwig her hand. The giant man took it and pulled himself up, nearly pulling her over in the process. And he ended the match with a suffocating bear hug. At least he was a gentle giant.

Astrid gave a final triumphant shout as she made her way to the edge of the arena, her eyes scanning the crowd that came to watch.

"Hiccup?" she said, spotting a familiar face amongst the crowd. She was secretly hoping she'd see him but she didn't expect he'd actually be there.

She eagerly made her way out of the arena to Hiccup, trying to straighten her disheveled hair along the way.

"Another win, m'lady," Hiccup asked, handing her a mug of cold water. Astrid brushed some sweat from her brow before gulping the whole thing down.

Considering Hiccup never went anywhere without Toothless, she was beginning to wonder where the night fury was. But, her question was answered when she saw a black night fury playing with her blue nadder not far away.

"You know it," Astrid said to Hiccup. "I'm surprised you're here. You're never…WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR LEG?!"

She may have shouted a bit too loudly. Everyone nearby looked their direction to see what the commotion was.

Astrid couldn't believe she didn't notice immediately. Hiccup wasn't walking on his own two feet, fake or not. He was on a crutch, his peg leg completely missing. He didn't even have a wooden makeshift.

Hiccup let out a nervous chuckle as Astrid helped him limp away from the arena.

"Funny story," he said. "So, my dad wanted me to check up on Mulch and Bucket. So, I took Toothless. Apparently, they ran into some trouble with a scauldron. And I thought, 'man, this would be a nice time to use Dragon Fly III to land while Toothless handles the scauldron'."

All of a sudden, Astrid felt a lot less sorry for him. Him and that stupid Dragon Fly III.

"And then?" she asked in a less forgiving tone.

"Then I…I crashed into the deck. But hey, now I know Toothless's gliding rig works."

"Really?" Astrid asked skeptically. "Then where are your spares?" Hiccup kept a bag of spare legs in a bag on Toothless. So, unless he miraculously had two more crashes, the only reason he wasn't walking on his spare legs was because-

"Toothless may have crashed into the ship and crushed my spares," Hiccup answered.

By this point they were far enough away from the arena that Astrid decided to stop walking so she could properly confront him. She stepped back and crossed her arms. Her look alone was enough to tell him everything she wanted to say.

"Astrid, you have to try it to understand," Hiccup said. "The feeling of actually flying! I just need to work out a few kinks. I didn't have any stability. I'm adding a fin that should solve the problem. I'm even trying a new wing design for the new suit!"

Astrid held up her hand to shut him up. By this point, part of her wondered if she should try finishing Dragon Fly III for him for his birthday instead. It might just save her boyfriend from getting himself killed.

"Alright, then why haven't you replaced it yet?" she asked.

"Well, dad's agreed to let me have the day off, and I know you always wanted me to be able to watch you train… Besides, Toothelss doesn't mind carrying me around."

"So why didn't you grab a replacement leg or something?"

"I was afraid I'd miss seeing your match," Hiccup said. Astrid felt her shoulders relax a bit. She had to admit it was touching.

"That's…" she stuttered. "That's actually sweet of you." Hiccup smiled at Astrid's compliment. Hiccup was nothing if not caring. "But don't think that means you're off the hook nearly getting yourself killed!" she added harshly, a finger in his face. Astrid rolled her eyes before returning to Hiccup's side and helping him limp away. Seeing their riders on the move, Toothless and Stormfly quickly ran to catch up.

"Where're we going?" Hiccup asked.

"Back to the village. We're going to get you a new leg."

-.-

"Honestly, Hiccup," Astrid sighed as she sat him down on a chair in the forge. "One of these days Toothless is going to come walking back with your corpse." She knelt down and rolled up Hiccup's left pant leg. With a tug, she pulled off the metal cap that was on the end of what was left of his leg.

Toothless and Stormfly couldn't really help with cleaning Hiccup up so there were outside, playing, some of the other Vikings complaining about the roughhousing going on.

"Call it an occupational hazard," Hiccup said as Astrid got a bucket of water and cloth. She dunked the cloth in the water and began wiping off the end of the stump. "Besides, how is it any more dangerous than training dragons, or fighting Berserkers or Dragon Hunters? Or even becoming the head of the Berk military and leading our forces into battle?"

Astrid paused when he mentioned this. She wanted to be able to argue with that but she couldn't. And Hiccup clearly knew this, giving her a mischievous grin.

"Just one flight, Astrid," Hiccup insisted. "Just one and you'll see."

"You know one is all it'll take to get _me_ killed," she said, taking a dry cloth and wiping off his leg.

"Don't worry," Hiccup said as Astrid placed the cap back on and rolled down his pant leg. "I'll be right beside you to make sure everything's fine. All three of us will be." Hiccup gestured toward the two dragons playing outside.

Astrid couldn't argue with that. These were the three people…well, 'people'…in her life that would do anything to keep her safe. Toothless was neither her dragon nor her boyfriend, but they have bonded and would protect her as fiercely as he protected Hiccup.

"Alright," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "One flight. And you better not get me killed. Or I will be coming back to make sure you join me in Valhalla."

"Well, at least we'll be together," Hiccup remarked, earning a flat stare from Astrid. "What?" he asked. "I'm just trying to be romantic."

"Be romantic when we're talking about something other than me going splat on a sea stack."

"Don't worry," he said, opening the drawer of a nearby desk. He pulled out another functioning metal leg from the desk, attaching it to the cap on his left leg. "I've been making new equipment that should make it safer. Take this suit for one."

Hiccup gestured toward the dark gray shoulder pads and chest piece that he wore. She didn't really pay it much mind when she first saw it back at the arena. Afterall, she was dealing with the mixed feeling of her boyfriend making sure he visited her after nearly getting himself killed.

"What about it?" she asked.

"It's my new flight suit. It should help me be more aerodynamic. It even handles hard impacts better for my crash landings." Astrid didn't hesitate. She immediately socked him across his shoulder. "Hey!" Hiccup cried out in protest.

"What?" she asked innocently. "Just helping you test it against those hard impacts. Did you feel anything?"

"Actually," Hiccup said, rolling his shoulder. "No." Astrid raised her fist for another punch. "And no, you can't hit me harder." Astrid lowered her fist in disappointment.

-.-

Her little run in with Hiccup earlier that day had proven a lot more helpful than she thought. She actually needed Hiccup's prosthetic leg to see if it would work with her little machine. And now, she knew where he kept his spares.

When she returned to the forge, the first thing she did was open the drawer she saw Hiccup open earlier. And there they were, about a dozen metal legs. She knew Hiccup was doubling down on keeping spares, but this seemed excessive.

Still, it helped her. She picked up a spare leg and went to the back room, her own prosthetic under her arm. Once safely behind the curtain, she set everything on the table.

The gear box was constructed. The latches were ready. She just needed to get the right spring in place and make sure the feet fit properly.

Taking apart Hiccup's spare prosthetic was easy. It just took a moment to take out the screw and the foot separated from the wood.

Looking at it now, she knew the foot was going to have to be a different shape for the new prosthetic. There was no way even one of these could fit let alone three.

She would need a completely new foot created. Which left her with a problem.

She didn't know what the new foot would look like. And even if she did, she didn't know how to draw the sketch with all the proper measurements to have Stoic give to Gobber. She could describe what she needed to Gobber or have Stoic describe it, but Gobber would probably piece together that she was making a prosthetic foot, and Hiccup was the only Viking with a foot like that.

Her only hope was to get a blacksmith that wasn't Hiccup or Gobber to help her. But Hiccup and Gobber were Berk's only blacksmiths.

Berk's only blacksmiths.

A smile crept across her face as she got a new idea. There was no way she could get one of Berk's blacksmiths to help her without revealing everything. But she could always call upon blacksmiths from another island. Berk was on good terms with the Outcasts now. They were the closest island. She could always pay a visit to Berserker Island and see Heather again.

It was decided. She would pay a visit to Berserker Island. Heather was sister to the chief. She has to know a good blacksmith. Dagur and Mala may have been husband and wife, but they were the leaders of their respective tribes. At least she could avoid their very awkward displays of affection.

"Stormfly!" she called out as she stepped out of the forge. Immediately, the deadly nadder swooped down and landed. Astrid put the new prosthetic and Hiccup's spare into the saddle bag before getting on. "Come on, girl. We're going to Berserker Island."

-.-

Astrid couldn't stay out too late. She'd touch down, say hi to Heather, get some help from the blacksmith, and head back.

Easy.

"Hey, you get to see Windshear when we land," Astrid said to Stormfly. Stormfly squawked excitedly at this prospect. Astrid prepared to lean back and relax for the journey. But something caught her eye.

Astrid leaned forward and squinted. It was dark so she could be mistaken. But it looked like there was something large on the horizon. It looked like a shapeless mass moving across the sky.

"Is that…fog?" she muttered. That's when her eyes widened. It was moving too fast to be regular fog. That meant there was only one thing it could be.

"Stormfly, smothering smokebreaths!" she called out. Stormfly knew what this meant. They could fly through fog. But they couldn't fly through a swarm of smokebreaths.

Stormfly veered to the side, ready to fly around the giant cloud. But as they turned, Astrid noticed the cloud was turning too. The smokebreaths were following her.

They weren't anywhere near Breakneck Bog. The smokebreaths population must've gotten too big to sustain so a smaller swarm broke off to find a new home. And now, they were on the hunt for more metal to build their nests. And they were now after hers.

Within moments, the swarm was upon her, the entire world vanishing behind a curtain of smoke.

She watched as the saddle bag opened, the metal items inside now free for the taking.

"No, you don't!" she cried out. She could afford to lose Hiccup's spare leg. She was not losing the new one. She lunged and grabbed the new leg before the smokebreath could fly away. She refused to let go of the leg, but so did the dragon.

She tightened her knees around the saddle. There was no way a single dragon was going to drag her off.

Then, she felt a harsh tug on her shoulders. Her shoulder guards! They were also made of metal.

She reached to grab her axe. But it wasn't there. She reached for the daggers in her belt. They weren't there either. The smokebreaths were disarming and there was nothing she could do.

The sky was lit up with Stormfly's fire, spines flying through the air in a desperate attempt to scare them off.

By this point, six smokebreaths were now yanking at her. Two pulling on the prosthetic leg, and two pulling on each of her pauldrons.

She felt some more tugs on her legs. They were targeting the spikes and skulls on her skirt.

"Get off!" she snapped, trying to kick away the smokebreaths. But kicking was the worst idea possible.

She let out a cry of frustration as the saddle vanished from between her legs. Stormfly was likely lost in the thick cloud of smoke. Her girl could find her later. Right now, she had to break free from the smokebreaths. The smokebreaths continued nipping at her legs, trying to yank off the metal skulls that held up her skirt, and she kept kicking them off. She didn't have a weapon to grab and she was now being lifted into the air so she grasped the metal leg with both hands.

"For the love of…" she muttered in frustration. "Let go!"

But, as Astrid looked down, she realized 'let go' wasn't the best suggestion. They were no longer over the water. They must've been close to the nest and hundreds of feet below her was solid ground.

"Wait, don't let go!" she cried out in some vain attempt to take back what she said.

Too late.

The smokebreaths finally released her, sending her plummeting from the sky. The world around her was spiraling out of control, her throat getting sore from the panicked screaming. She had to think fast or she was going splat on the ground.

Suddenly, a pair of sturdy claws snatched her from the air.

"Stormfly?" she asked, assuming her dragon to be her rescuer. But instead, she looked up at a silver dragon with green eyes, a familiar ride atop it.

"Heather!" Astrid laughed. "How'd you find me?"

"I didn't," Heather said, pointing ahead. Astrid followed Heather's fingers, spotting Stormfly hovering in front of her. "I was wondering why there was a panicked nadder off our coast, so we decided to follow." Well, now Astrid knew why the smokebreaths decided to release her. Leading two dragons back to their nest was not worth a few measly pieces of metal.

Stormfly swooped under Astrid. Windshear released her and dropped her right on her dragon.

"There's my girl," Astrid laughed, hugging the back of Stormfly's neck. "I knew you had my back."

"Astrid, what're you doing out here?" Heather asked. "This late at night too."

"Need help with something," she said. "Do you know any good blacksmiths?"

"Blacksmiths?" Heather repeated. The Berserker Viking looked at Astrid with a suspicious glare. "You and Hiccup aren't fighting, are you?"

"What?" Astrid stuttered in embarrassment, not expecting this question. "No. Not more than we usually do. I mean, that was never much to begin with. The last one was my fault. And so was the one before that, but…"

Her voice trailed off as she realized she was just babbling.

"Alright, then why don't you ask Hiccup for help?" Heather asked.

"Because what I need is _for_ Hiccup."

Immediately, a grin spread across Heather's face from ear to ear.

"I might know a blacksmith that could help us out," she said. "Follow me."

-.-

By this point, it was really late into the night. Just about all the Berserkers were fast asleep, the only ones walking around being night patrol. And apparently, one very crazy blacksmith.

Dagur wasn't the only one on the island that looked like a lunatic. The Blacksmith's hair made it look like he was struck by lightning, his beard was so large it looked like he was wearing an apron of hair, his skin and clothes covered in random patches of soot and ash, and the expressions he made were cartoonishly exaggerated.

"Helvar's a bit on the crazy side," Heather explained. "But he's the best blacksmith on the island. That being said, you know none of us can figure out Hiccup's machines."

"You don't have to," Astrid said, showing Helvar the prosthetic she was making. "I just need the feet to attach. Something that can fit into these latches and can fit when they spin." She looked at Hevlar. "You think you can handle that?"

Helvar looked at the prosthetic leg, a hand on his chin. Finally, he looked at her with a thumbs up and a big toothy grin. At least, the grin would be toothy if the man wasn't missing half his teeth.

"One more thing," Astrid said to Heather. "It's kinda late. Mind if I bunk here for the night?"

"Well, Dagur is visiting Mala so you can use his bed," Heather said.

"Thank Thor it's not the other way around."

"Tell me about it. Dinner with those two get seriously awkward."

-.-

**Day 5**

Astrid was up early the next day despite how late she was out last night. If anyone asked her she would swear it was to train. But, in reality was because of a deadly nadder and a razor whip roughhousing on the roof that woke her up.

After the morning exercises were finished, she made her way back to the Berserker forge, where Helvar was adding his finishing touches.

"Good night's sleep?" Heather asked, walking into the forge behind Astrid.

"Oh yeah," she said, cracking her neck and raising her arms out to stretch. "I have to say, Dagur's room is a lot neater than I expected."

"What'd you expect?" Heather asked with a grin.

"I don't know. Maybe something that suits a person with the title 'Deranged'."

"Wanna know a secret? Notice how he has all his axes facing the same direction? Just turn one axe in the opposite direction. Then you'll see how deranged he can be."

They both laughed at that.

"I want to ask how life is when he and Mala are around but I'm actually afraid of what I'll hear."

Thinking about Mala and Dagur actually made Astrid blush. But not because of their behavior, rather what happened because she had the grand idea of being inspired by that behavior.

"I know that look," Heather remarked, snapping Astrid out of her stupor. She forgot that she had spent enough time with Heather that the Berserker could usually tell what she was thinking just from her expression. "So does my brother and Mala have to do with Hiccup?"

Astrid was already blushing before. Now her cheeks were burning.

"Well…you know those fights we talked about?" Astrid stuttered.

"The ones you say were your fault?"

"Well, this one definitely was." Astrid hesitated to talk about it. It wasn't exactly her proudest moments in life. "You could say I was…inspired by them."

Heather's jaw dropped as she fought to contain her laughter.

"Wait a minute," she said. "You telling me you wanted Hiccup to eat your face in public and have little pet names for you?!" Heather clung to her stomach, keeling over from laughter. "Sneaking in some dragon nip before breakfast that day, huh Astrid?" Heather was laughing so hard that Windshear poked her head down from the roof of the forge to see what was happening. Even Stormfly was curiously peeking in.

"Alright, nothing that extreme," Astrid laughed.

"Your mouth is saying one thing, but your reddening ears are saying another, little Miss Hofferson."

"Look, maybe I did suddenly want Hiccup to give me some more…outward displays of affection. Not a big deal. And, no one was eating anyone's face."

"And the pet names? You have any of those for him?"

Astrid was ready to vehemently deny it. But, Stormfly walked up behind her and gave her a push with her beak, a mischievous look in the nadder's eye.

"I might sneak in a few 'babes' here and there," Astrid confessed. Heather had finally managed to get her laughing under control but there was no hiding that grin.

"Sure. It's just 'babe' today. What're you going to call him tomorrow? How long before you start calling him 'Hickey Baby'?"

"I am _not_ going to call him 'Hickey Baby."

"Sure, you aren't. Like how you guys weren't more than 'just friends.'" Heather added air quotes for emphasis.

Astrid was just about to counter that when she noticed a rather psychotic looking blacksmith standing beside her. He gave another toothy grin and presented the products on the table. Did he lose more teeth last night?

Astrid eagerly stepped forward, looking at what was given to her. She walked to the table before her, looking at the assortment of prosthetic feet.

The first one she picked was up a normal foot. It had been reshaped so that it could fit into her contraption. The bottom of the foot was still a metal disk but the 'ankle' was now to the side of the foot rather than the back. The next one she picked up had a serrated bottom. Astrid knew this was the foot made to walk on ice and other rough terrain. The third foot was like the first but had a padded bottom.

"What do you think?" Heather asked. Astrid was already at work, opening the prosthetic and attaching the new feet.

"Moment of truth," Astrid announced, holding up the prosthetic. She began pumping the spring, listening to the gears inside click.

And…nothing.

"It didn't work?" Heather asked.

"Actually," Astrid said, holding the leg for her to see. "It is working. The spring's just not strong enough with the extra weight." Astrid turned to look at her friend. "Heather, I can't thank you enough for this."

Heather just laughs, shouldering the axe she had carried in.

"Don't thank me," Heather said. "Just make sure Hiccup gets this."

"Hopefully I can do it without getting myself killed," Astrid added. "I'm beginning to understand what Hiccup's been through all those years."

"Wait a minute," Heather interjected. "I thought this was just a new leg. How're you nearly getting killed?"

"I wish I knew," Astrid sighed. "Well, I better head back."


	5. Savage Obstacles

**_A/N: Hey, guys. So time for the non-romatnic. Alright, so when I first wrote this story, this chapter was not included (it was included in the first publishing but it was a last minute addition). What got me to write it was because I kept running into a high number of Astrid the damsel stories. Same thing over and over again. Hiccup goes to a chief meeting while Astrid waits outside and a Viking nearly has his way with her until Hiccup steps in. Astrid gets kidnapped. Astrid gets hurt on mission. (Granted, I was reading httyd fanfiction starting from the very first one on and working my way back so it could've been a phase from years back). I like a good damsel in distress as much as the next guy, but we have to remember this is Astrid Freakin Hofferson here. Baddies better be bringing an army. So this is Astrid kicking the asses of five Vikings with her hands tied behind her back. Plus I thought it would be good juxtaposition showing Astrid failing at Hiccup's forte and showing her forte. And a little trivia, the scene at the end was a homage to Gift of the Night Fury. Anyways, please let me know what you think and enjoy  
_**

**_-.-_**

Astrid could not wait to get back to Berk. She was nearly finished with the new leg. She could already imagine Hiccup receiving it form her.

Finally! Her first real gift for him. They always said that Hiccup was lucky to get a girl like Astrid. She wholeheartedly disagreed. She was the lucky one. And finally, she could show Hiccup how much he meant to her.

She reached into her saddle bag and took out the peg leg, holding it out in front of her and admiring it.

"We finally did it, Stormfly," Astrid said, stroking the back of her dragon. "We finally got a gift for Hiccup." Stormfly squawked excitedly.

Astrid felt like she was flying, and not because she was on Stormfly. She didn't think she could get a good gift for Hiccup…well…ever. Yet, here it was. One more change of the springs and it was finished.

"FIRE!"

Astrid let out a startled gasp as she looked down, barely able to react to a net flying her direction. She let out a startled scream as the net wrapped around both her and her dragon.

"NO!" she screamed as the peg leg, the thing she had been working on for the past few days, fell out of her hand and toward the ocean.

She couldn't believe it. Several days work…gone.

Unable to flap her wings, she and Stormfly plummeted toward the ocean. Astrid couldn't think about the leg. She had to get free. She instinctively reached for her dagger. When she felt nothing but the sheath, she remembered the smokebreaths had taken all her weapons.

She growled in frustration. She had been left completely defenseless by a bunch of dragons.

"Stormfly, spine!" she yelled. Stormfly immediately complied, the spines on her tail raising. And with a flick of that tail, a flurry of spines flew through the air. Astrid snatched one of the spines out of the air.

It wasn't a knife, but it was the closest thing she had.

Astrid felt the air leave her lungs as she hit the water's surface. She didn't have much time. She had to cut herself and her dragon free of the net. She immediately got to work. The water impeded her every move, but she began dragging the sharp barb across the rope. It was a sharp point, not a bladed edge. It didn't cut as well. But it worked.

It took forever. Astrid could feel her lungs burning. But, finally, she cut herself out of the net. With a hole in the net, Stormfly immediately got to work getting out. She watched the nadder shake her wings free. Even if the net was still tangled around its head, it could fly. Astrid reached out to get on her dragon again. But then, she felt something wrap around her ankle and yank her toward the surface.

Astrid took in a big breath of air as she felt herself pulled out of the water and onto deck. She couldn't tell what was happening around her. She could feel a bunch of hands force her to the grounds, forcing her arms behind her back. Once they were done, they let her sit up. She blinked a couple of times to get the water out of her eyes as she got her bearings. When she could finally see, she saw a familiar face right in front of hers.

"Savage?"

She couldn't believe her eyes. But the face before her was unmistakable.

"'ello, beauty," Savage chuckled. "Fancy meeting you out here."

Astrid knew she should probably be worried for her life. But, at the moment, she was busy fuming over what had just happened. She couldn't get her mind off the peg leg she lost.

"Are you kidding me?!" she yelled angrily. Savage stepped back in surprise. Astrid was tied up, unarmed, and outnumbered. Her hands were tied behind her back. But she didn't seem to care.

"It's cursed!" Astrid proclaimed. "That's the only explanation. This occupation is cursed to try to screw or kill whoever dares to-"

"Hey!" Savage yelled, grabbing Astrid's attention. Savage gritted his teeth at Astrid's clear disrespect. Between her behavior just a few moments ago and her clearly enraged expression, it was apparent she didn't take him or the situation he put her in seriously.

Savage took several deep breaths, calming his temper.

"I've been disrespected by everyone I've served under," he growled. "I am not gonna be disrespected by some namby pamby dragon rider. And lose the tough-girl act. Looks can't kill so yer wastin' yer time."

Astrid's eyes narrowed at the several slights against her.

"I am going to chop your legs off," she said steadily, or at least as steadily as she could. She was still seething. But her promise fell on deaf ears as her captors burst out laughing.

"Ya ain't in any position to make threats," Savage cackled. "Take a look around." Astrid did just that. It seemed Savage has been busy. There were four other Vikings with him: an Outcast, a Berserker, a Dragon Hunter, and a Dragon Flier. The Outcast and Berserker were standing next to her, swords in their sheaths and strong hands making sure she was sitting on the floor. The hunter and flier stood guard weapons in hand, the hunter with an axe and the flier with a mace.

"Yer dragon riders been making quite a few enemies," Savage explained. "And, as it turns out, not every Outcast and Berserker was dandy with being friendly with you Berkians. Been gatherin' a crew keen on revenge."

Savage knelt down in front of Astrid and grasped her by the jaw.

"And I think sending Hiccup yer broken body would be a good start at getting revenge," Savage chuckled. "Oh, I wonder how poor little Hiccup will react to that." Astrid snarled at this threat. All this time, Astrid did not feel afraid about her situation. But all that changed when she realized Savage was staring at something.

Astrid followed Savage's gaze downward. He wasn't looking at her face.

A cold chill ran down her spine as she realized the only thing he could be looking at.

"Savage, don't," Astrid said fearfully. Savage reached forward. "Savage, I swear to you, if you-"

_CLINK_

Astrid felt Savage yank off the betrothal necklace she had hanging from her neck.

"Would ya look at this," Savage laughed, holding the necklace up. "Bet this is worth somethin',"

At that moment, something snapped inside Astrid. Anyone looking at her would swear they could hear the shattering of glass the moment her expression changed. She charged forward with enough force that the Outcast and Berserker holding her toppled over. Savage looked up, barely having enough time to let out a startled scream as Astrid rammed into him. The two of them fell over onto the deck. Astrid's hands were still tied behind her back. So she resorted to viciously headbutting Savage.

Again.

And again.

And again.

"Someone get this lunatic away from me!" Savage howled. The Outcast and Berserker sprung into action. They grabbed Astrid and began dragging her backwards. Astrid kicked and thrashed, roaring angrily. But, she could not outmuscle two Vikings twice her size.

That actually gave her an idea.

She put all her energy into rushing forward, the Outcast and Berserker doubling their energy to hold her back. Suddenly, Astrid put her drive into reverse. Instead of charging forward, she shoved herself backwards with everything she had. The Outcast and Berserker weren't expecting this sudden change and were sent tumbling to the opposite end of the ship and hitting the side. The Berserker lost balance and fell over. But the Outcast was hit with enough force that he went flying off the side of the ship and into the water.

The Berserker finally got his bearings and stood up, hand adjusting his helmet. But, when he looked up, the only thing he got to see was Astrid delivering a roundhouse kick to his head and sending him to join his Outcast companion overboard.

"What're you idiots doing?!" Savage yelled in frustration. "Grab her!"

Astrid still had no weapon. She was still tied up. And she was facing three armed Vikings. The fight was completely unfair.

These poor saps didn't stand a chance.

The Flier made the first move, raising his heavy mace into the air and prepared to crush her skull with it. Astrid stepped back, tripping over her foot and falling flat on her back. Seeing his opportunity, the Flier prepared to bring the mace down upon her.

Astrid smiled. Trick worked every time.

As the mace came down, she rolled sideways and let the mace hit the wood deck. She rolled back over and kicked the Flier's feet out from under him. With the Flier on the ground, she got up and stomped on his head, knocking him out with one blow.

She was getting tired now. She stood up to catch her breath after her little skirmish. The Hunter snuck up behind her, axe in hand. He was going to bury that axe into her skull and be done with this.

But, Astrid knew he was there. She turned around, staring the Hunter right in the eye. The Hunter froze in fear. This Viking girl had just taken out four armed Vikings with her arms still tied behind her back. And seeing her glare at him now, facing a Whispering Death seemed less intimidating.

"Sorry," the Hunter whimpered, lowering his axe. "I think I'll jump off the ship now."

The moment he finished his sentence, the Dragon Hunter turned around and leapt off the edge of the ship, shrieking in terror.

Three Vikings overboard, one unconscious, that only left Savage. And he was gawking at what he had just beheld.

Astrid still also had to confront the issue of her still tied up. And all the weapons that could free her conveniently went over the ship with the Vikings that carried them. She would need to cut the ropes with Savage's axe.

But as she started walking toward Savage, he gave a shriek of terror before scampering up the ship's mast like a squirrel. He stopped near the top, clinging to the mast for dear life. It wasn't the fall he was afraid of. It was what he had to face when he survived it.

Astrid roared in frustration. Savage had taken his axe with him. And that meant he had taken her hope of cutting herself free.

"Savage!" Astrid roared, kicking the mast in frustration. "Savage, get down here and cut me free now!"

"I ain't coming down!" Savage yelped from the top of the mast. "You'll cut me legs off!"

"Oh, you'll wish your legs are what I cut off!"

Astrid kicked the mast again. If Savage didn't come down, then her only hope was to try to use the spike on the mace and hope it can cut her ropes.

But, it turned out she didn't have to. The ship suddenly rocked beneath their feet. They both looked up, spotting a dragon perched at the top of the mast, glaring at Savage.

"Stormfly!" Astrid cheered excitedly. Stormfly squawked at Astrid happily before turning her attention back to Savage.

Savage let out a startled shriek, letting go of the mast and falling back to the deck.

Astrid didn't even give Savage time to recover. He was still reaching for his axe when she gave Savage a sharp kick to the gut.

"That's for kidnapping me!" she yelled. Savage got up but Astrid picked up her foot and kicked him back over.

"That's for threatening Hiccup!"

Savage stumbled to his feet but was still keeled over in pain. He was in the perfect position for Astrid as she drove her knee into him.

"That's for kidnapping him!" It wasn't a recent event, but she's been really looking forward to hurting Savage for that. She gave Savage another kick for good measure.

"That's for making me lose my birthday gift!"

Savage tried to limp away but Astrid slammed a roundhouse kick into his head.

"That's for touching his betrothal gift!"

Savage was battered and bruised. He couldn't leap over the side of the ship. He could only weakly crawl over the edge. Or at least he tried. He was halfway over when Astrid put a boot to his behind and sent him flying over the edge, clear of the ship, and into the water.

Astrid ran to the edge of the ship, spotting Savage in the water.

"AND THAT'S FOR EVERYTHING ELSE!" she yelled at him angrily.

And just like that, it was over. Stormfly swooped down to help her. Lifting up her foot, Stormfly sliced through the ropes wrapped around Astrid with a talon. Astrid adjusted herself and Stormfly sliced through the ropes around her wrists with just as much ease.

Astrid flexed her wrists before stretching out her arms. With her hands free, she quickly swooped down and snatched the betrothal necklace off the deck of the ship. The chain was snapped but it was intact.

She couldn't wear it so she slid the necklace into pouch on her waist.

Stormfly squawked at Astrid, clearly happy that she's happy.

"There's my girl," Astrid laughed, hugging Stormfly's snout. "Where've you been? You had me scared. And what is in your mouth?"

Stormfly squawked excitedly, holding out her head as if she wanted to present Astrid with something. Astrid held out her hands and Stormfly spat into Astrid's hands.

Astrid grimaced and groaned at the massive glob of dragon spit in her hand. But there was something else. She could feel something metal underneath all the dragon spit.

Astrid began wiping off all the dragon saliva on her shirt. It was disgusting. But she didn't care if she got soaked in dragon spit if this was what she thought it was.

And it was.

Astrid gasped when she saw the peg leg in her hand.

"You found it!" she laughed. "Is that where you've been?" Stormfly responded with an eager squawk. Astrid hugged Stormfly again, unable to find the words to express her gratitude. When Astrid pulled back, Stormfly crouched down to let Astrid on.

"Alright, let's get back to Berk," Astrid said, getting on. She put the leg into the saddlebag and the two of them took to the skies.

Designation: Berk.

"All that's left is to switch out the springs," Astrid said. "Then, it'll be all finished." Stormfly squawked in response, but it wasn't an eager response. "Come on, Stormfly. I'm pretty sure everything that can go wrong has gone wrong by this point. What could possibly happen switching out a spring?"


	6. Happy Birthday Hiccup

**_A/N: Here we go. Astrid goes to finish what she started and give a present to the Viking who has everything. And nothing could possibly go wrong now. Right? _****_A little trivia: the feather pin was inspired by a panel in the Ask-Viking-Astrid tumblr that I really liked. I get there are budget constraints but I do wish the series did more with their appearances. New clothes and whatnot. That would've been cool to see. Anyways, please enjoy.  
_**

-.-

Who knew that getting your boyfriend a simple peg leg was so perilous? Astrid was no stranger to danger. She even found the idea fun. But this was ridiculous.

But she was back on Berk. The only thing left to do was to switch out the springs. Then, it's finished. There was no way the gods could do anything else to her.

That night, Astrid was getting ready for the final touches.

She opened the casing once more. All she needed was to replace the spring. She had grabbed the bag of springs from her house. Now she just needed to get a stronger one in place.

She took out the spring, actually managing to remove it without it bouncing away. She tested a few springs with her fingers until she found one that was much stronger than the one she had just used.

She knew she had to be careful lest she wants the spring bouncing out of her fingers and into the darkness of the forge. She leaned forward, bringing her face right in front of the leg, using both her hands to make sure the spring was tightly in place.

She smiled in satisfaction.

It was finished.

Now, she just needed to test it. But, just as she prepared to lean back and admire her creation, she heard a click inside the mechanism.

Suddenly, the gears came to life, the spring coil pushing against the mechanism. Her eyes widened in horror when she felt it tug on her hair. It didn't take her long to realize her bang had gotten snagged in the gears and the mechanism was pulling it in.

She tried to hold the prosthetic leg still, stop it from pulling in any more of her hair, but the pain at her hair was too much.

She let go, listening to the rhythmic clicking as the gears sucked in her left bangs. She cringed in pain, grasping the prosthetic again.

Just when she thought things were looking up, the leg was now eating her hair.

Astrid heard Stormfly's squawk. She saw the nadder open its beak, ready to break the thing that was pulling her hair.

"Stormfly, wait!" Astrid cried out in panic. The nadder stopped, looking at Astrid in confusion. It didn't matter if it was by Stormfly or by herself. She was not destroying this thing. It took days to build and she is almost done with it. If she destroyed it she would have nothing to give Hiccup and failure was not an option she was willing to consider.

Stormfly gave a final squawk before backing out of the forge and flying off.

Astrid held the mechanical leg in the air, not wanting to feel its weight pull her hair. She wanted to get the gears to spit her hair back out. Problem was, she couldn't see the mechanisms. And she was _not_ breaking it.

She only had one hope. She had to cut her hair off. If she cut her left bangs off she could get the mechanisms to spit her hair out. And she'd be free of this cursed thing.

But it was a shame. She loved her hair. And it would take forever to grow it to this length again. Not to mention she'd have to find a new hair style to match the bald spot.

It was her hair or Hiccup.

Wasn't much of a choice. With one hand holding the leg still, she reached for her dagger with her right hand. She lined her dagger with her hair.

One quick cut and she'll be free.

"Astrid."

Astrid froze, a chill running down her spine. She knew that voice. But she didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to turn around, part of her praying that she had heard wrong.

But, denial wasn't going to change anything. She slowly turned around, her eyes falling upon the worst person it could possibly be.

"Hey…Hiccup…" she said awkwardly.

She could still slice her hair. But, there wasn't a single excuse she could give that Hiccup would buy. He had seen what she was making. There was no choice but to come clean.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup asked, rushing to Astrid's side. He held the mechanical leg in place, his eyes widening at what he saw. "Astrid, is this what you've been hiding from me?"

Astrid let go of the leg since Hiccup was holding it, and she hung her head.

"Hiccup, what're you doing here?" she asked. If her plan failed, she might as well figure out what went wrong.

"Well, Stormfly kept jumping on the roof of my house," Hiccup explained. "She seemed really intent on getting me to the forge."

Astrid knew Stormfly had the best intentions in mind but she still couldn't help but feel annoyed. She glanced at the doorway to the secret room, both Toothless and Stormfly peeking their heads in.

"Hiccup," she sighed. "I-"

"Hold that thought," Hiccup said. "Hey, Stormfly. Mind if I borrow a spine?"

Stormfly gave a compliant squawk, launching a spine into the wall. Hiccup reached up and pulled the barb out of the wood.

"I just need something sharp and sturdy to pull back the pawl," Hiccup explained as he worked. "You need to release the mechanisms before you change the spring. I just need to pull back the pawl to get the gears to spin the other way. Once I do that then it…should…there!"

Astrid felt the gears release her hair, the pressure on her scalp vanishing. She let out a sigh of relief, rubbing the sore spot on her head. Hiccup, meanwhile, was transfixed on the thing he had just liberated her hair from.

"Astrid…" he stuttered. "This is…this is incredible! You built this?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise," she said disappointedly. On one hand, she was overjoyed that Hiccup was so excited about what she made. On the other, really did feel useless for failing to get Hiccup a proper gift…again.

Astird sat up in surprise when she felt a pair of lips meet her cheek. She looked at Hiccup, not expecting the sudden kiss. He scruffed her hair, putting his forehead against hers.

"Thank you," he said. "Actually, there's something I wanted to give to you." He rushed to the wall and grabbed the axe she had seen earlier. "Since you lost your mother's axe during our fight with the Dragon Hunters, I wanted to get you a new one. And…" Astrid watched Hiccup unfold the axe. "You said you like Heather's axe so I decided to fashion one just like it."

Hiccup folded the axe back up, holding it out in front of him. She took the axe graciously, smiling at it. Still, she knew she couldn't hide a hint of disappointment on her face. And she knew Hiccup could pick up on that.

"Astrid, what is it?" he asked. Astrid let out a sigh. She had a lot she wanted to say and she also didn't want to give Hiccup the wrong impression. So, she might as well say what was on her mind.

"It's just that…" she said, her voice trailing off. "I already saw the axe…and I know you wanted it be a surprise for me." Hiccup opened his mouth, probably to reassure her it was fine. "And," Astrid continued, cutting him off before he could speak. "The leg was supposed to be a surprise for your birthday tomorrow." It was a double fail on her part. She messed up Hiccup's surprise then she messed up her own.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt hands cup her cheeks and his lips brought to hers. She went stiff for a moment. But once she realized what was happening, she wrapped her arms around his head. And just like that, all her worries were alleviated.

Birthday or not, surprise or not, she had made that peg leg to not only help him but to show him what he meant to her. Even if it didn't go the way she wanted, she succeeded.

When they finally pulled apart, she was still in a daze. She wished they could just stay like that forever.

Hiccup cupped her cheek.

"You really are the most amazing gift I could ask for," he said.

"I…I just wish I was able to do it right," Astrid sighed. "I did ruin your surprise."

Suddenly, a grin spread across his face.

"Actually," he said. "There is one more surprise…"

Astrid looked at Hiccup in confusion as he hastily walked across the room and tore off a sheet of cloth on the wall.

And seeing what was behind it…replaced Astrid's guilt with frustration.

"Hiccup…" she said. "Those better not be what I think they are…"

Hidden behind the cloth was no less than five variations of his flight suit. On the left side was the black leather one he had worn yesterday. And there were four variations of the black leather one. There was one made of metal. The next one seemed to be a stretchy but tight cloth suit. And the last one was covered, or at least partially covered, in dragon scales.

Hiccup moaned in annoyance. The floor beneath the fourth suit was covered in dragon scales. He began sweeping them up with his foot.

He paused when he noticed Astrid's glare. Finally, she relented with a sigh.

"Alright, what do you have?" she asked. The smile on Hiccup's face was indescribable. It actually made her wish she agreed to this earlier just to see him smile like that.

"Alright, you've already seen my first flight suit," Hiccup said, patting the black leather suit. "I've been working on a few variations, but I think this one…" He walked over to the one covered in dragon scales. "I think this is the way to go." He patted the scaled suit with pride, moaning in annoyance as even more scales fell off and littered the floor.

"I still need to work on the adhesive," he muttered. "But I've been experimenting with a new wing design. And, it has all the new safety features."

"Alright," she said, walking up to him and taking his hands. "When shall we do this?"

"Tomorrow," he said. "After the part. Also…" Hiccup picked Astrid's peg leg off the desk and handed it to her with a wink. Astrid knew what this meant as she took the leg.

She was going to give this to him at the ceremony as intended.

-.-

Stoic pounded on the table with his hammer. The booms echoed through the Great Hall, catching everyone's attention. Vikings, dragons, they all looked up to see what the chief had to say. The only ones who didn't were the ones who sat next to Stoic at the table at the front. Gobber, Stoic's best friend, sat to the left of Stoic. Hiccup sat to the right of his father. And Astrid sat to the right of him.

"Alright, everyone!" Stoic boomed. Silence fell upon the hall, making way for Stoic's voice. Stoic gave a hearty laugh as he looked around the hall. "I must say, where has the time gone. This is a day to celebrate a long list of achievements. This is out fifth year of peace with the dragons. We celebrate new found alliances from all across the archipelago. We celebrate a victory in our war against the Dragon Hunters. But we celebrate all this because of one Viking. I mean, fifteen years of being the worst Viking Berk has ever seen was no treat…"

Everyone in the Great Hall laughed at this little joke.

"But…" Stoic continued. "It was all worth it for who we have today. Today we celebrate Hiccup's twentieth birthday."

Applause broke out across the hall. Even the dragons roared in approval. Considering Hiccup was the trainer of a vast majority of them, they certainly knew who he was.

"But enough of that. Let the feast…begin!"

And chaos immediately broke out as the hungry Vikings dove into their food. Over the course of the feast, Vikings found time to approach the table and give Hiccup his gift.

Clearly Vikings lacked imagination. There were unique ones like Feshlegs and his pages for the book of dragons, Snotlout and his Jorgenson Handguide on How to be a Viking, or even the Thorston's Vomit Cake (Tuffnut swears it was named for its appearance, but Astrid had an inkling suspicion there were other reasons as well).

But, most of the gifts he was given included maces he could barely hold or spears that were too long for him to use. Someone did give him a tailfin for Toothless. But as he put it away, Hiccup mouthed to Astrid, _'It doesn't work'_.

Finally, it was Astrid's turn. She had packaged the peg leg in a box with a feather pin on it. Hiccup was a terrible actor so he didn't even pretend to act surprised as he took the leg. He took a seat and rolled up his left pant leg, taking off his current prosthetic. Astrid knelt down and attached and attached his new leg.

Hiccup stood up, tapping his new foot on the ground a few times. As he looked up, he paused to look at the feather pin that had come with his gift. Being Hiccup, of course an idea came to him. He reached behind Astrid and attached the pin to the back of her head at the base of her braid. Astrid instinctively brushed her hair, feeling the feathers behind her.

If Hiccup liked it, she liked it.

Finally, to top it all off…

There were a few whistles as Hiccup pulled Astrid in for a passionate kiss.

-.-

The party lasted throughout the day. Stoic may have had a bit too much mead and Gobber had to haul him away. Apparently, he wasn't the only one. A drunk Fishlegs and a drunk Snotlout tried to ask Ruffnut to dance with them, but they ended up drunkenly dancing with each other.

"Dinner and a show," Astrid remarked as she and Hiccup watched Fishlegs drag a half-conscious Snlotlout across the floor.

Then came the dragon race. This time performed by the A-team. There were a few changes to the rules. The sheep would only appear on a designated course and the riders could only fly on that course, picking them up as they made a pass. So, it was more race and less scavenger hunt.

-.-

The sun had begun to set when the festivities were over. The decorations were all scattered about but everyone was returning to their hut in a drunken stupor. Hiccup couldn't hold his mead. And Astrid was not embarrassing herself on his birthday.

Once it was all done, Hiccup led her to his secret room where his suits were.

"Here," Hiccup said, tossing Astrid a black helmet. Astrid recognized the helmet from the night before. It was the scaled suit. But most of its scales had fallen off leaving it rather ugly looking mess.

"Wait a minute," she said. "Why do I get the broken one?"

"It's not broken," Hiccup scoffed as he put on his harness. "This one does have all the new safety features so I thought you should wear it."

Astrid couldn't really argue with that. The helmet was going to take the longest to put on so she put it on the table. She picked up her chest harness, even more scales falling off as she did, and put it on. She had to take off her spaulders and set them on the table.

"I decided to use a stiff wing design for the new suit," Hiccup explained as he geared up. "This means the straps will be by your waist, not legs."

"Got it," Astrid said. If she was jumping off her dragon, she was going to make sure she took in every detail lest she wants to go splat on the ground.

Hiccup was more experienced putting on his flight suit and was finished while Astrid was fumbling to fit her hair inside his helmet. She had

"Here just leave it out," Hiccup said. Astrid took his advice and just left her braid hanging out the back of the helmet.

They were both geared and ready.

"We better hurry," Hiccup said, taking Astrid by the hand and leading her to their dragons outside. "Sunset is where you get the best views."

-.-

Astrid was eager about this when they both started. Now, she wasn't so sure. They had taken their dragons above the clouds, finding a good spot to jump from.

"Are you sure about this, Hiccup?" Astrid asked again, looking at the clouds below them. They were higher than they usually flew, the air thin and cold at this altitude. Astrid couldn't even see the ground through the thick haze of white.

"Astrid, it'll be fine," Hiccup reassured her. "You've jumped off of Stormfly plenty of times."

"Yea, so she can catch me," Astrid corrected. "I'm going to be falling wearing…this."

"I wouldn't do this if I wasn't sure it would work. Look, I put us in the middle of the ocean, away from any sea stacks or things to crash into. Now, you ready."

Astrid took in a deep breath. She risked her life plenty of times with missions and stunts far crazier than this. She nearly got killed simply by making Hiccup a new leg. This should be a breeze.

What could possibly-

No. She was NOT finishing that thought.

Astrid gave Hiccup a thumbs up, sitting up like he showed her. Hiccup unlatched himself from Toothless and followed suit as they counted down together.

"3…2…1…"

In sync, both riders slid of the side of their dragons, letting themselves plummet below. She heard the 'whoosh' of Stormfly and Toothless diving after them. She and Hiccup continued their plummet, facing each other as their dragons took up positions behind them.

Astrid couldn't see Hiccup's face through his stupid helmet, but she could tell he was smiling. He reached out his hand, offering it to her. Astrid slowly extended her own, wrapping her fingers around his. She didn't know what it was, but his touch was reassuring, her entire body relaxing. They may have been hurtling at the ground at breakneck speeds, but Hiccup wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

"You ready?" he asked. He gingerly released her fingers. They were still plummeting head-first toward the ground, but Hiccup and Astrid both hunched over, reaching their arms into straps. Hiccup's straps were by his legs. Astrid's were by her waist. In unison, they pulled the straps open. Massive sheets of cloth unfurled around Hiccup as large black wings extend from Astrid's back as both of them spread their limbs.

Astrid let out a startled gasp as she felt her trajectory completely change. She wasn't plummeting toward the ground. She looked around herself, still in disbelief over what was happening.

She was flying.

She was flying.

Whatever tension was left in her body left as she realized she was soaring on a curtain of air.

She looked to her right, seeing Hiccup gliding right beside her. She looked forward at the golden clouds before her. She had flown through clouds like these before. She's flown through them on Stormfly plenty of times. She's even flown through them on Toothless a couple times. But this was the first time she has flown through them with neither. This was a completely new experience for her. It actually reminded her of her first trip on Toothless.

Her first flight on Toothless…

It was also the day she learned about Hiccup. She had always known _about_ Hiccup the Useless, seen his face, talked to him a few times, and was definitely familiar with his reputation. He was not a normal Viking. Afterall, normal Vikings didn't have limbs like toothpicks and destroy the village every other day. But she didn't truly know him. She didn't know him any better than Vikings knew dragons.

Then, she saw him with Toothless. It was the day, the moment, her entire life changed.

If you wanted something no Viking has ever done before, you would need someone who wasn't a normal Viking. And Hiccup was that someone. Afterall, normal Vikings didn't befriend, train, or ride dragons. Hiccup the Coward was willing to stand up against her, his village, his chief, even his own father to protect someone he cared about, a prospect that would break even the bravest Vikings.

Hiccup was an enigma, a mystery she had spent the past several years unraveling.

The world turned to night. The sun vanished behind the horizon, the stars peeking out from the darkness above. Familiar glowing green auras appeared in the night sky above them.

Astrid carefully navigated herself right next to Hiccup, gingerly taking his hand. They looked at each other, neither being able to see the other's face but knowing the other was smiling. Astrid glanced behind her, Toothless and Stormfly not far behind them.

"Alright," she said. "I'll admit it. This is pretty cool. It's…amazing. You're amazing…"

Astrid looked up at Stormfly, gliding not far behind her. The nadder squawked excitedly at the prospect of flying with her. Astrid certainly understood why. It actually made her excited: the prospect of flying right next to Hiccup and Stormfly.

Astrid looked forward again, her eyes widening.

"Uhh…Hiccup," Astrid spoke up. "I thought you said we were away from any sea stacks."

"Yeah, why?"

"Then what are those?!"

Hiccup looked forward, seeing what Astrid had spotted. Astrid didn't need Hiccup to say anything. She knew he had made a mistake. What was before them was a sea stack. The dragons knew it too, Stormfly and Toothless squawking and screeching with panic, flapping even harder, desperately trying to catch up with their riders.

Astrid was also beginning to panic. She was about to crash into the rocks. Her only hope of survival was to make a hard turn. But even if she could get out of the way, she didn't know if Hiccup could steer clear.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Hiccup called out. Astrid looked at him in confusion. He maneuvered himself under her, turning upside down. Whatever he was going to do, he better do it fast. She wasn't sure if the dragons could catch up to them in time.

He reached up, hugging her waist and pulling her in.

"Pull the chute!" he yelled.

"The what?!"

"The chute. The…nevermind!"

Hiccup reached up, yanking on something under her left armpit. Astrid let out a startled scream as she felt a hard yank on her shoulders.

Whatever he did, it was working. They had slowed down considerably. She glanced behind her, spotting a massive rectangular sheet of cloth catching the air. She also spotted something else: their dragons. Stormfly and Toothless were still rushing at them at breakneck speeds in a desperate attempt to save them.

"Whoa, Stormfly!"

"Toothless, wait!"

Too late.

The two dragons collided with them, wrapped their wings around the two riders as all of them were sent flying, and screaming, through the air.

Astrid held onto Hiccup as they curled up in their little protective sphere, the dragon wings making it impossible to see outside. She could feel the world spiraling out of control, hear the explosion of a pair of fiery blasts hitting rock. Finally, she felt something hard hit the outside of the wings. They continued bouncing and tumbling on that hard surface until, finally, it all came to a stop.

At least Hiccup's suit did its job. She didn't feel most of those impacts. She just felt dizzy from the spinning. And the suit was now completely stripped of all dragon scales.

The dragons unfurled their wings, letting Astrid see they had landed. Hiccup leapt to his feet, excited but clearly just as dizzy as he wobbled back and forth. Astrid needed his help to stand. The world still felt like it was spinning. Stormfly and Toothless were also recovering from their sudden stop.

As the world around her finally decided to stop moving, she could finally stand on her own.

"We really need to work on our midflight communication, bud," Hiccup remarked, leaning on Toothless' snout. "We totally had that under control."

It didn't seem like Toothless was listening.

"OW!" Hiccup yelped as the night fury swatted the back of his head with the prosthetic tail. Toothless rolled his eyes and began walking away, grumbling in annoyance. "Oh, come on! I didn't deserve that." Hiccup let out another startled cry as a nadder tail swept his feet out from under him, Stormfly walking over and giving Hiccup an agitated glare. "Ok, I might deserve that one though."

Hiccup didn't even bother standing. He just sat up. Astrid walked over to him before socking him across the shoulder.

"Hey!" Hiccup cried out in protest. "What was that for?"

"For nearly killing me," Astrid said with a straight face. Astrid could tell Hiccup was waiting for something. And when it didn't come, he finally spoke up.

"No follow up?" he asked, clearly expecting the kiss she usually gave afterwards. Astrid gave her answer in the form of a glare.

Astrid rolled her eyes and sat down next to Hiccup. Her wings were still extended so Hiccup reached over and began spinning a dial on the chest piece, winding the wings back up.

Hiccup finally sat back when a clump of dirt hit him in the back of the head. They both looked back, spotting Toothless and Stormfly pouting behind them.

"C'mon, you made your point," Hiccup protested. Stormfly growled at Hiccup while Toothless let out a low croak as if he was muttering to himself. The two dragons turned away to leave the humans to their business.

Astrid still felt some of the panic she had when she nearly crashed. But, she also felt some of the awe from when she was flying.

"So…" she said awkwardly. "Not that I'm saying that I suddenly approve of you jumping off cliffs or Toothless…but if you were to finish your little experiments, how long would it take for you to make another dragon scale suit?"

She could see Hiccup's face light up.

"Well, the wings are easy, depending on the ones you want," he babbled.

"I'll take the ones you _finished_ experimenting with."

"Sure. The suit might take a while. I still need to figure out the adhesive and Toothless would need to shed enough scales for two suits."

"Actually," Astrid interrupted. "I was thinking a different style, one that's more me. Blue, maybe a few spikes, like…" Astrid glanced at Stormfly, and Hiccup followed her gaze.

"It might take a while," he said. "But, I think I can make it happen."

Astrid smiled at the thought of spending time with Hiccup by flying with him through the air. She stood up, preparing to get back on Stormfly.

But there was one more thing she had to do.

Astrid quickly walked back over to Hiccup, seized him by the collar, and pressed her lips against his. Hiccup seized up for a moment, startled by the sudden move, but he relaxed as he realized what was happening.

After a very long while, Astrid needed to draw breath, so she pulled away with a smile.

"What was…that for?" Hiccup asked awkwardly as Astrid made her way to Stormfly. It must've been the wording as his mind clearly went back to the punch she gave him earlier.

"Hey, it's not fun if you see it coming," Astrid giggled.


End file.
